COVID

The plumbing industry has been essential through the rise of the pandemic over the last year or so. Thankfully, this means many plumbers have been able to continue working (while adhering to COVID-19 guidelines) rather than losing out on all essential work. However, because of the rate the virus spreads, there’s also a very large chance that many people have put off plumbing issues in their homes in fear of letting someone new into their homes.

Now there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and vaccines are beginning to be administered into the most vulnerable people, the rate of infection and other statistics should continue to drop. This means the world can get back to some sort of normality, and this means more people will be willing to let plumbers into their homes to fix their problems. However, with so many plumbers like you out there, how are you going to ensure you get your fair share of customers? Take a look at these effective methods to increase your customer base in a post pandemic era.

Show case studies

Case studies are a wonderful way of proving to potential clients that you can do the best work, whether it’s tightening a leaking pipe or fitting a new bathroom. At each project, take plenty of pictures (with the owner’s consent, of course) and use them on your website and at each pitch to help get potential customers on board with you, rather than other plumbers.

Continue to abide by safety laws

Even when everyone has had their vaccines, there’s still bound to be fear for many potential customers that the virus could be spread in their home. Continuing to abide by safety laws in your country or region will help them feel at ease. Many business owners are taking advice from Carlos Ramirez Safety to ensure the work they’re doing is as safe as possible for both themselves, and their clients. A professional plumber is almost always more likely to be hired over someone who’s not willing to put safety first.

Talk about your services on social media

Social media is the way forward in this day and age, and if you want to attract more customers, you should be using platforms like Facebook and Instagram to showcase the work you’re doing. Much like case studies, you can use pictures and videos to show transformations you’ve completed, as well as displaying your contact details and price list. Using the right hashtags will help you reach the right people and doing it consistently will ensure they call you when they have a plumbing issue.

Create an offer that’s hard to refuse

Finally, all plumbers will be looking to increase their customer base once restrictions begin to lift, so you need to get ahead of the game. Create offers and discounts for new and returning customers to help ensure people choose you over your competitors. Remember to always reward loyalty, and welcome new customers differently to make each customer feel as special as possible.

As plumbers, we tend to think of our industry as being somehow separate from mainstream technology. But the truth is that water transit technology is getting better all the time. 

Yes – the changes are a little slower than in the electronics world. But they are occurring. And they’re bringing big benefits. 

Plumbing technology is: 

• Making homes more efficient
• Reducing the number of leaks
• Improving the purity of water
• Making problems easier to fix and diagnoses
• Making installations less time-consuming
• Reducing water usage
• Making tanks redundant
• Allowing for touchless faucets and toilets

In this post, we take a look at some of the most talked-about plumbing technology to hit the market in recent years and the effect it is having on people’s lives. 

Let’s get started. 

Smart Irrigation

Google searches for the term “smart irrigation” are exploding at the moment. And it’s not hard to understand why. People don’t want to have to manage their gardens or crops’ hydration levels manually. Instead, they want to put the system on autopilot so that they can avoid drudgery. 

The way smart irrigation works is pretty simple. You start by running a bunch of sprinklers or water dispensers next to the plants you want to water and then hook the system up to the mains. You then connect the sprinkler control to an app that uses sensor data to figure out when it should be watering. It’s clever enough to know that it doesn’t need to water when it rains, but does during a drought. 

Smart irrigation also allows customers to see precisely how much water they’re using for environmental reasons – currently a major concern. 

Leak Detectors

Imagine if you were able to attach detectors to galvanized steel pipes that would automatically tell you if there was a leak. Homes and businesses would save billions every year. 

Well, as many of you will know, this technology already exists. All you need to do is install a simple-looking detector on a pipe and then it will tell you whether there’s a leak or not. 

Many smart home brands, such as Samsung and Nest, already have leak detectors in their product lineup. Given the potential environmental benefits, we are probably going to see these installed as standard in the near future. 

Touchless Technology

Traditional mechanical plumbing systems required people to physically turn handles and push knobs. But given the coronavirus, and germs in general, that old arrangement is not ideal, especially in public bathrooms. 

Touchless technology, however, provides a way around this predicament. It works using a motion sensor. People place their hands in front of it and it changes the light signal, tripping a circuit which then mechanically activates the device. For toilets, users simply place their hands close to a sensor, and the thing flushes. 

For plumbers, these new setups complicate matters somewhat. You need to understand both plumbing and electronics to service this equipment. But, as of right now, the writing’s on the wall. This is where the industry is heading. 

Greywater Recycling Systems

Greywater recycling systems are another eco-friendly innovation people want to learn more about. Homes and businesses want to be able to recycle water from dirty dishes and use it for other purposes, such as irrigation. 

Brands offering greywater systems are coming online all the time. But there’s an information problem: currently, the vast bulk of regular consumers don’t even know these systems exist. 

That will likely change in the coming years. Consumers want to save water. And greywater recycling systems aren’t particularly complicated. They let people save on their overall water bill while also potentially providing their plants with additional nourishment. 

Smart Showers

Traditional showers involved a lot of careful calibration to get the temperature just right. Users often had to adjust dials by minuscule amounts, otherwise, it would be too hot or too cold. Repeating their experience in other places, such as hotels, was impossible. 

Smart showers hope to put an end to this. Instead of presenting the user with a dial, these feature a touchscreen control panel that allows direct temperature selection. So if somebody knows that they enjoy showers at 42 C, then they can simply choose this temperature and start washing. 

Smart showers are still a luxury item, but that won’t last. Just like prices for other electronics, the cost of these systems is coming down all the time. And the market is growing too. So many people want to purchase them.

Tankless Water Heaters

Tankless water heaters are currently a bit of an obsession among the home-owning community. Everybody seems to be interested in them right now. 

Tankless water heaters are popular because they offer space-saving. Without a tank, you can potentially fit more living space into a given footprint.  

Consumers also love tankless water heaters because they provide a continual stream of hot water. So long as the element is active, a warm shower never needs to come to an end. 

The primary driving force behind this trend appears to be convenience. People don’t want to spend money on maintaining clunky tanks. They want something simple and durable. 

They also want energy-efficient solutions. Homeowners feel uncomfortable about keeping water hot all the time. They’d prefer to simply heat it when they need it. 

Linked to tankless water heaters is the technology of hot water circulation. The idea here is to eliminate the problem of cold water sitting in pipes. Usually, you would first have to run a shower or faucet to eliminate the cold water before the hot water came through. 

But with hot water circulation, you simply apply low heat to the small amount of water in the pipes and use a pump to circulate it around. Then, when the time comes to use it, hot water comes out immediately. 

So, in summary, the world of plumbing is not standing still. Technology is advancing all the time, and it’s making people’s lives better. What’s interesting is how much of this technology saves water and makes systems more reliable. Homes and businesses could very well face much lower prices in the future. 

There’s barely an area of the economy that COVID hasn’t reached, and that includes the plumbing industry. Of course, there are areas of business that have actually thrived during the pandemic due to the nature of their business. 

The initial shut down of some areas caused smaller plumbing companies to shutter, especially those that made the majority of their income through renovations. But once the initial shock of the pandemic was was over, there has been a rebound in business that has been very specific to this sector. 

Here’s how COVID has affected the plumbing industry for better and for worse. 

The initial reduction of non-essential work

Throughout the pandemic, people don’t want non-essential people in their homes, potentially spreading the virus. Therefore a lot of bathroom and kitchen renovations have been put on hold. 

Of course, emergency visits still continued, with replacements of Grundfos pressure pumps, leaks, and blockages still needing to be tackled. In some areas, the number of emergency visits increased as people stayed at home more. People aren’t going to school or work and are staying together indoors for days at a time, putting immense pressure on plumbing systems. 

Businesses were also delaying essential maintenance on their systems due to temporary closure or trying to save money. This is undoubtedly going to lead to much larger issues further down the line as old systems develop big problems. 

However, due to many people fearing lack of job security or a reduction in income, house sales have suffered, with people instead deciding to stay put and improve their existing properties by adding toilets or bathrooms. 

The risk to workers 

As an essential service, plumbers have continued to work throughout the pandemic, giving them greater potential exposure to the virus. In particular, men who are older, or with pre-existing health conditions suffered from the virus more severely than a lot of other groups. 

Abandoned buildings need increased attention

Many buildings that are usually occupied have needed additional attention. The lack of use can lead to the failure of seals in the plumbing system which must be replaced to prevent substantial damage to the building. 

Customer communication has changed 

Large parts of the plumbing industry have been known to be a little behind when it comes to using the latest technology to communicate with customers. To the industry’s credit, it has adapted very quickly, adopting systems like live chat and video calls to conduct initial consultations with clients, thereby reducing the need for unnecessary contact. Beyond the pandemic, these new methods of communication are likely to stick around in some form as customers expect this type of service. 

Conclusion

The plumbing industry has not been beyond the reach of the effects of the pandemic and as a number of other trades, has had to adapt to very specific situations brought about by a sudden change in living and working patterns of the country. It’s yet to be seen how some areas will rebound after the restrictions are lifted in many states. 

It’s fair to say that the last year has been a significant challenge for just about every industry. Even something as essential as plumbing hasn’t gone without being impacted by the changes that have come about due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, just because you’re facing these unique challenges, doesn’t mean that you’re not going to be able to overcome them. With that in mind, here are some things that you can do in order to keep your plumbing business afloat in a post-COVID world.

Stay safe

The most obvious thing to remember when working during the pandemic is to make sure that you, your employees, and your clients are all as safe as possible. There are plenty of ways that you can do this of course. If you’re heading out to clients then make sure that you have procedures in place so that you can maintain social distancing and that you’re always keeping yourself and your equipment clean and sanitized. This applies to your office and warehouse too. Of course, this is all alongside the other, more typical health and safety measures that you need to take. Safety should always be your number one concern, even once we’re all on the other side of this pandemic.

Present yourself properly

People are pretty frightened at the moment and they need to feel secure in whatever business they hire. They need to be sure that not only are you going to do the best job possible but that you’re going to be able to do it safely and securely. This means that you have to put your best foot forward at all times. Things like making sure that your website is as high quality as possible or using something like http://physicaladdress.com to set up a virtual mailbox that can help smaller plumbing companies look better established can make a huge difference. If you want to keep your business going during these tough times, your customers need to feel as though they can trust you completely.

Adjust your working methods

You may previously have had particular ideas about how your business is run. Everything from plumbers out on jobs to the manufacturing side to the way that the office itself functions. The reality is that in this new world there’s a good chance that you’ll need to rethink all of these in one way or another. From making sure that you’re compliant with safety regulations to ensuring that all of your staff are working to the highest possible standard no matter where they are. The modern world has changed and it’s up to you to change with it.

The reality is that, pandemic or no pandemic, your business is one that is always going to be necessary both domestically and commercially. Being able to adjust to the needs of the modern world in whatever form that takes is one of the most important things that you can do to stay ahead of the competition and to make sure that your business comes out of the totally unprecedented situation as cleanly as possible.